Trending Tags

Follow

About Michael J. Miller

Miller, who was editor-in-chief of PC Magazine from 1991 to 2005, authors this blog for PC Magazine to share his thoughts on PC-related products. No investment advice is offered in this blog. All duties are disclaimed. Miller works separately for a private investment firm which may at any time invest in companies whose products are discussed in this blog, and no disclosure of securities transactions will be made.

A Cake For the Microprocessor

Attending Pepcom's product showcase in New York last week, I was amused to see that, along with a selection of ultrabooks, Intel showed off a birthday cake celebrating the 40th anniversary of the microprocessor. The cake was made at Charm City Cakes, as featured in Ace of Cakes, a show my family watched all too often last season.

The cake, shown above, displayed various fondant electronics: a laptop (an unspecified model, but it looked like a MacBook Air) on top of a selection of iPods, floating above an old Gateway 2000 desktop, on top of an Osborne 1. The MacBook Air and the Gateway 2000 likely used Intel processors, but the iPods definitely didn't. I certainly remember the Osborne 1—but it had a Zilog Z-80 processor, famously designed by Federico Faggin, one of the designers of the 4004, after he left Intel.

Anyway, it was fun to see. As I said in last week's column about the 40th anniversary of the microprocessor, the first microprocessor, the 4004, ushered in the modern era of technology. Without microprocessors, we wouldn't have personal computers, tablets, smartphones, digital cameras, or this creative cake.

Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service